The sudden U-turn taken by Telangana Rashtra Samithi president and chief minister K Chandrasekha Rao on the three controversial legislations on agriculture introduced by the Narendra Modi government has raised many an eyebrow.
KCR took everybody by surprise at a high-level meeting on Sunday evening that the Central legislations on agriculture reforms were being implemented all over the country and Telangana cannot escape.
He also announced that hereafter the state government would not purchase agriculture produce from farmers directly, as it had done during the Kharif season this year and that the farmers themselves should make arrangements to sell their produce.
“During the Corona pandemic, the government had set up purchasing centres in the village itself and purchased the agriculture produce on a humanitarian consideration that farmers should not suffer losses. It is not possible to do the same thing every time,” KCR said.
He even sounded harsh saying the government is not a business organisation or trader. It is not a rice miller or a dal miller. Sale and purchase are not the responsibility of government. It is not possible to set up purchase centre in the village from next year onwards, he said.
“The new farm laws being implemented in the country allowed the farmers to sell their crop anywhere. Hence, the state government need not set purchase centre in the villages and as there is no need,” KCR said.
It was only a few months ago that the TRS had voted against the farm bills in Parliament. The party leaders made strong statements against the agriculture bills and also took part in the Bharat Bandh programme held in the first week of December.
What is more, KCR even strongly criticised the controversial legislations and announced that he would launch a nation-wide movement by consolidating all anti-BJP forces with agriculture as a rallying point. He declared that he would conduct a nation-wide conclave on the draconian agriculture laws.
But after the TRS rout in the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation elections, the scene has changed completely. Within days of the GHMC election results, KCR went to Delhi and held talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah.
One doesn’t know what transpired between KCR and Centre, he returned to Hyderabad without even meeting the farmers agitating on Delhi borders.
After a couple of weeks, KCR has now come up with a decision that surprised everybody, giving rise to the talk that he has surrendered to the BJP bosses!
